Google and Cuba finalized their deal to bring servers to the Communist island to allow high speed internet for users. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt signed an agreement in Havana on Monday with Cuba’s state telecommunications company, La Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA, concluding months of talks.The Google servers in Cuba will store content such as popular YouTube videos, allowing the content to be delivered more quickly to Cuban users. The move is the latest to improve internet access for the country of 11.2 million people, which has long been one of the world’s most isolated nations.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama’s administration pushed Google and GE to finish agreements with Cuba since President-elect Donald Trump desires to void the deal Obama and the brutal regime made in 2014 to warm relations between the two countries.
However, this will not benefit the regular Cuban people:
The deal announced Monday removes one of the many obstacles to a normal internet in Cuba, which suffers from some of the world’s most limited and expensive access. Home connections remain illegal for most Cubans and the government charges the equivalent of a month’s average salary for 10 hours of access to public WiFi spots with speeds frequently too slow to download files or watch streaming video.The deal does not affect Cuba’s antiquated communications infrastructure or broaden public access to the internet, but it could make Google websites like YouTube or Gmail up to 10 times faster for users inside Cuba. Content hosted by other companies will not be affected.
Yeah, about that. See, the regime controls the media. American bullying or capitalism did not keep the internet from Cuba. The freaking Communist regime has. One UN agency said only 3.4% of homes in Cuba have access to the internet.
It really makes one wonder just how much regular people on the street will have an opportunity to enjoy the internet. Plus, if they do, the regime will probably install massive blocks on webpages. I doubt the regime will allow Cubans access to Facebook or Twitter. Access to YouTube? I want to know which videos the Cubans can view.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has reported that cellphones, wi-fi hotspots, and broadband connections have extended to homes, reaching almost 150,000 people. Nothing on what type of information the people can access, though.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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